Shears

ABSTRACT

1,018,593. Hedge shears. WALLACE M.F.G. CORPORATION. Jan. 22, 1964 [Jan. 29, 1963], No. 2719/64. Heading B4B. Hedge shears comprise blades 2, 4 pivotally interconnected by means of a pivot 12, 14, 16, handle-receiving portions 22, 24 pivotally interconnected by means of a bolt 40 and pivot pins 60, 62 each interconnecting a blade with its associated handle-receiving portion. In a modification, instead of the pivot 12, 14, 16 the blades 102, 104, Fig. 11 (not shown), have annular embossments 103, 105 with aligned openings through which extends a rivet 106. In another modification, the pivot pins 60, 62 are replaced by pins 160, 162, Fig. 12 (not shown), each having a shank portion 164 which is a tight fit in the respective blade and a body portion 166 of increased diameter so as to form a shoulder 168 which seats upon the respective blade, the end of the portion 166 having a bevelled edge 170 received in a chamfered portion of the handle-receiving member 122 or 124. In a further modification, the pivot pins 60, 62 are replaced by pins 260, 262, Fig. 13 (not shown), fixed in the handle-receiving members 222, 224 with cup washers 206 urging the blades 202, 204 towards each other.

June 8, 1965 E. M. WALLACE ETAL 3,187,430

SHEARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29, 1963 INVENTORS. EDWARD M. WALLACE WALLACE M. PRESTON ATTORNEY.

June 8, 1965 E. M. WALLACE ETAL 3,137,430

SHEARS Filed Jan. 29, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BLADEa cm HANDLE PIVOT SURFACE EB19 B A.B.

PINTLE HANDLE BLADE MEANS PIVOT PIVOT E T f. 5H.

INVENTORS. EDWARD M. WALLACE WALLACE M. PRESTON BY 5 m Q1 ATTORNEY.

June 8, 1965 E. M. WALLACE ETAL 3,137,430

SHEARS Filed Jan. 29, 1965 s Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS. EDWARD M. WALLACE WALLACE M. PRESTON ATTORNEY.

United States Patent "ice 3,187,430 SHEARS Edward M. Wallace, 55 Benedict Terrace, Longmeadow, Mass, and Wallace M. Preston, West Springfield, Mass, assignors, by mesue assignments, to EdwardM. Wallace, Longmeadow, Mass.

Filed Jan. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 254,762

6 Claims. (Cl. 30-452) This invention relates to improvements and structural refinements in hedge shears.

It will be helpful to an understanding ofthis invention first to briefly consider some of the history of the prior art as it reflects upon the essential pointsand more important features and aspects hereof so that same may be kept in mind during the subsequent reading of the detailed description of the practical embodiment of my improvements and illustration thereof in there hereunto annexed drawings.

Hedge shears of the common types available today and known in the prior art comprise a pair of crossed bladehandle levers held together by means of a single pivot. Such construction has a plurality of disadvantages. Pri mary among these is the fact that such arrangement requires an excessive amount of effort or generated force in order to attain the desired cutting action, there being no novel leverage built into the shears other than through the extension of the handle members which does, admittedly, contribute to the leverage system, so much so in fact that certain prior art constructions have exploited this advantage to the fullest by extending the handle members to great limits. But such has not been without attendant difliculties, for the farther the handles are extended, in proceeding down along this route of attaining increased leverage, obviously the more the weight is extended from the operators hands, wherefore the more tiring the use of such shears becomes, until the absurd, certainly self-defeating, point of uselessness is reached Where an unwieldly, if not in fact an unworkable, mechanism is attained.

There has been an obvious need for a more simple means for multiplying the forces applied to the handles of hedge shears, and in the invention herein disclosed, new and novel means for accomplishing same are disclosed. e

Again with reference to prior art hedge shears, a second significant disadvantage is found in the fact that, when substantial forces are applied to the handles, a twisting effect is encountered which can act to separate the cutting edges rather than to bring them together as requisite for a positive shearing contact.

Accordingly, there is an obvious need for hedge shears which, not only will provide added leverage to give a more powerful horizontal force to the cutting blades, but also will act simultaneously to augment the customary transverse force which is built into the shears, all in manner to hold the edges in contact during the shearing action.

Again with reference to prior art hedge shears, there is a third salient disadvantage in the presence of the conventional cam or bearing surfaces at the rear of the blade pivot. These surfaces are of critical importance in customary shears, they determining the planar relationship between the shearing edges, as well as the transverse contact pressure between the blades. The formation of these cam or bearing surfaces requires' special cutlery skills wherefor they are difficult to produce uniformly and at low cost. Additionally, these bearing tact between the blades.

Patented June 8, 1965 surfaces are objectionable in that they introduce excessive wear and friction with subsequent loss of shearing con- Tightening of the pivot bolt means will temporarily offset such loss of bearing surface, but, eventually, such tightening introduces excessive friction at the pivot and, even then, the blade edges cannot be brought into optimum shearing contact.

Another disadvantage in the prior art shears is discovered in the fact that the included angle between the cutting edges has been allowed to become so large that,

in use, the work tends to be thrown or forced out, a fact substantiated by the employment in many of such constructions, of a serrated edge on one, if not both, of the blades, said serrated edge or edges being for the ostensible purpose of offsetting this very throwing or forcing out tendency. Nonetheless, the serrating of the blades is disadvantageous and is hardly the optimum solution for the reason that, instead of allowing a pair of sharp edges, there is normally only one cutting edge and thus only one cutting blade for severing the work.

Another disadvantage in present day hedge shears resides in the fact that practically all types require a means for absorbing the impact upon cutting in the form of rubber bumpers or springs, attesting to the fact that the use of such hedge shears comprehends the application of excessive effort, which effort, upon completion of a severing action, allows such a force that the shock thereof is reflected directly into the operators arms, unless such shock absorbing means are provided. The very presence of such absorbers attests to an inherent disadvantage in constructions which necessitate them.

With these problems and others in mind, we provide herein a multiple pivot type of hedge shears wherewith extra leverage is imparted to the blades to effect easy shearing, wherewith a transverse force is developed between the blades as resistance is encountered in shearing, wherewith there is a complete absence of friction between blades at the rear of the blade pivot, wherewith the included angle between the cutting edges is appreciably decreased, wherewith the need for a serrated blade edge is obviated, and wherewith the need for rubber bumpers or like buffer means is rendered unnecessary.

One primary object of our present invention is to provide a novel construction and arrangement of hedge shears wherein the cutting blades are related to the handle receiving members in novel manner so as not only to provide an increased leverage, whereby an improved cutting action is obtained, but also to achieve, simultane ously therewith, important additional advantages to elfectuate a superior cutting action.

It should be here mentioned that the feature of merely obtaining a compound leverage in a shear has been heretofore accomplished by myriad means, but it should also be mentioned that such constructions have each failed to overcome the above itemized objections so inherent in customary simple leverage hedge shears. The fact remains that, until the present invention, compound action hedge shears have not been forthcoming.

Whereas, in known prior art shears, the imparting of power or force and hence additional leverage in a horizontal plane has admittedly been exploited, it is an object of the present invention to proceed beyond the feature of imparting of leverage in said horizontal plane as has been heretofore known, same being resultant from the employment of cam or bearing surfaces rearwardly of the blade handle pivot, as earlier alluded to. However, normal wear of such so-called rear cam surfaces serves to diminish the generated transverse force with the resultant cure therefor being in the form of a tightening and retightening of the bolt, such proceeding until the cam is worn away to the point where the cam action is negligible and the shears are eventually rendered useless.

Contrariwise, in the present invention, the conventional generation of a transverse force via a cam surface rearwardly of the pivotal point of the blades is avoided by a construction wherein there is in fact no direct contact between the blades in this rearward region. Herein lies one salient improvement of the invention over the known art: the transverse force which brings the blades together is generated forwardly of the blade pivot. Thus, there being ab initio no direct contact between the blades in said area rearwardly of the blade pivot, the problem of wear in this region is practically eliminated, the only wear whatever being in a pivot stud, itself of unique design, which is interposed between the blades as a separating member, which pivot stud is easily replaceable should wear ensue. The key point here is that, in the event of such contingency, pivot stud replacement is contemplated, and not blade replacement.

Additionally, and as further significant features hereof, we comprehend the use, forwardly of the blade pivot, of a trio of force generating means for bringing the blades together, one being in the form of the handle pivot for creating the normal transverse force resulting in creating the normal contacting pressure between the cutting edges and two being in the form of pivotally engaged pin members, there being one interconnecting each blade and its respective handle receiving member or handle extension member for creating the transverse force, all wherefore, as resistance is met in cutting, the blades are tended to be brought together by said forces. The transverse forces augmenting the normal contact pressure between the blade edges.

Still further, it is another object hereof to provide a single direct point of contact between the inner planar surfaces of the blades and this, forwardly of the blade pivot, in contradistinction with prior art shears where direct points of contact are found both in front of and behind the blade pivot. That is to say, we comprehend constructions wherein the cutting blades are pivotally interconnected and have, in advance of said pivotal interconnection, and intermediate their ends, pin means adapted to be pivotally interengaged with the forwardmost portion of their respective handle receiving members in manner so that an increased horizontal leverage is exerted intermediate the ends of the cutting blades and simultaneously a transverse force is exerted to increase contact pressure between the blades, all to the end that a smoother and more positive cutting action of the cooperating blades is achieved.

The invention further envisions unique cooperant pivot systems whereby a vertically-disposed blade pivot functions to pivotally interconnect the blades and simultaneously to separate the rear portions of the inner planar surfaces of said blades so as to preclude blade-to-blade contact thereadjacent, and a vertically-disposed handle pivot independent of and forwardly of said blade pivot in spaced parallelism therewith constitutes the pivotal interconnection between the upper and lower handles and further whereby vertically-extending pintle means fixed to each blade forwardly of the handle pivot and in spaced parallelism therewith is pivotally engaged with its respective handle extension for creating forces for urging the blade edges together forwardly of the blade pivot in the attainment of a relatively free, powerful, positive shearing action.

Hedge shears made in accordance with the invention are relatively simple and inexpensive to produce, are light in weight, require minimum effort in operational use, and are so constructed as to allow long service.

These foregoing objects and other incidental ends and advantages will in part be obvious and apparent and will in part be more fully pointed out as the nature of the invention is better understood in the progress of the disclosure below. To the end of attaining these objects and advantages and others hereinafter reasonably appearing, it will be explained that the invention consists substantially in the combination, construction, configuration, location and function of parts, as herein described in detail.

It will be apparent, however, that the physical embodiments delineated, albeit the preferred exemplifications, are only exemplary of but several of the multiplicity of ways in and purposes for which the principle of the invention may be employed. Same are submitted as best know embodiments of the invention in accordance with the patent statutes and are given with a view to illustrating and explaining the precise nature of the principles of the invention and their embodiments for practical use, in order that others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains may be enabled to adapt and modify them in numerous variations and modifications, each as may be best adapted to the conditions of any particular use.

The characteristic features which we consider to be novel with our invention, as to its construction and organization and as to its methods of manufacture, will be better understood from a consideration of the following detailed description forming a part of this specification, when read in conjunction with the illustrations in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are employed to designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of shears constructed according to one form of the present invention, showing the cutting blades in closed position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the construction shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the midsection of the construction shown in FIG. 2 for purposes of clarifying certain constructional features;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged side elevational view of the novel blade pivot pin of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the shears of FIG. 1, showing the cutting blades in the opened position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the shears as shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the shears as shown in FIG. 5, with certain parts being broken away for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of typical prior art shears illustrating by side elevational view the transverse forces acting to bring the cutting edges together;

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of one form of the shears of the invention illustrating by side elevational view the transverse forces acting to bring the cutting edges together;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of shears constructed in accordance with a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the midsection of the construction shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of the blade pivot of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a sectional View on the line 1212 of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 13 is a sectional view, similar to FIG. 12, showing another modified form of the pin construction of the invention.

With continued reference now to the drawings which illustrate typical embodiments of the invention for the 'we have shown in FIG. 1, a pair of cutting blades of one form of the hedge shears of the invention, said blades being designated by 2 and 4, and each being provided with a cutting edge in the usual manner, it being of course understood that one of such blades, such as 2, constitutes an upperblade, and the other of such blades, such as 4, constitutes a lower blade.

Blades 2 and 4 are pivotally interconnected adjacent their rearward extremities by a blade pivot, generally indicated by It as shown in FIG. 4, and comprising a cylindrical pivot stud having opposite end portions 12 and 14 and having at is midsection a radially-extending annular separating flange 16.

As will appear, one end portion 12 of the blade pivot is receivable in an opening vertically-extending through one of the blades 2 and the other end portion 14 is receivable in a vertically-aligned opening vertically extending through the other of the blades 4, with separating flange 16 being interposed between blades 2 and 4 for the precise purpose of separating same in the area of the .rearward extremities of the blades. 7

Handle receiving members are designated by 22 and 24,

and allow shanks adapted to receive at their rearward ends grasping handles 32 and 34 respectively, which handles may be of any desired or conventional design, one being an upper handle, such as 32, and one being a lower handle, such as 34.

A handle pivot is provided forwardly of the pivotal connection of the cutting blades in the form of a stud or bolt extendable through aligned openings through handle receiving member-s 22 and 24' and in a loose fitting manner through oppositely-facing aligned registering openings 42 and 44 in blades 2 and 4 respectively and has a nut 46 threadedly receivable thereon in conventional manner.

A cup washer 43 may be disposed, if desired, between the head of stud 4t) and the upper planar surface of handle receiving member 22. As the entirety of the assemblage must be brought together via the stud and nut route, the cup washer allows a certain resiliency thereto. Without same; there would be a metal-to-metal contact such that, if the blade were unusually distorted, there might be an excessive friction or binding experience. A spring means, such as the cup washer represents, enhances the opportunity for achieving a smooth working mechanism.

Additionally, washers 50 and 52 might be interposed between the handle receiving members 22 and 24 and their respective blades 2 and 4, as shown.

Bolt 40 of the handle pivot will be observed to be disposed in vertically-disposed spaced-paralleism to the axis of blade pivot 10.

Handle receiving members 22 and 24 are offset so as to facilitate the asymmetry of the construction and to allow the disposition of grasping handles 32 and 34 in a single generally-horizontal plane, as shown in FIG. 2, and further to provide a forwardmost portion of each located above the adjacent surface of the respective cutting blade which it serves. That is, each handle receiving member is a counterpart of the other except that the shanks are bent in opposite directions so that, when the hedge shears are assembled, the grasping handles extend outwardly in the same plane from the median line of the shears in opposite directions.

Blade 2 has, near its cutting edge, and forwardly of the handle pivot, a pivot or pintle pin 60 which may be secured thereto by any suitable means so as toallow an upper extremity to extend upwardly from the outer planar surface thereof, said upper extremity benig pivotally receivable in an appropriately aligned vertically-disposed opening extending through handle receiving member 22 adjacent the forwardmost extremity thereof.

7 Blade 4 has, near its cutting edge, and forwardly of the extremity to extend downwardly from the outer planar surface thereof, said lower extremity pivotally receivable in an appropriately-aligned vertically-disposed opening extending through handle receiving member 24 adjacent the forwardmost extremity thereof.

The handle pivot allowed'by stud 40 and related parts limits the extent of the opening movement of the blades, as said blades turn upon blade pivot 10.

In a sense, blade pivot 10 can be construed as a floating pivot which changes its position relative to the handle pivot during the opening and closing movements of the blades and also changes its position, relatively to pivot pins 60 and 62.

Lower blade 4 may be provided with a notch 5 forwardly of fixed pivot 62 for holding heavy branches or shrubbery or the like, as is well known in the art.

Thus, it will be observed that what we have provided here is a compound shears having upper and lower blades pivotally interconnected at their respective rearward portions and being operative in a horizontal plane,in combination with upper and lower handles pivotally interconnected at their respective forward portions and being operative in a horizontal plane, wherein a blade pivot constitutes the pivotal interconnection between the upper and lower blades, and wherein a handle pivot independent of and forwardly of the blade pivot constitutes the pivotal interconnection between the upper and lower handles, with the lower handle at its forward portion being located below the lower blade and the upper handle at its forward portion being located above the upper blade, and in combination with pintle means fixed to the upper surface of the upper blade for rotatable cooperation with the forward portion of the upper handle and pintle means fixed to lower surface of the lower blade for rotatable cooperation with the forward portion of the lower handle, wherein the pintle means conjointly serve to increase the transverse contact pressure between the blades when cutting resistance is encountered.

As illustrated schematically in FIG. 8, prior art shears utilize cam or bearing surfaces at the rear of the bladehandle pivot .for the purpose of generating transverse forces to promote cutting edge contact. This construction creates considerable friction and attendant wear at the cam surfaces.

FIG. 8A, in contrast, shows one form of this invention whereby multiple transverse forces are developed to increase cutting edge contact pressure. This construction utilizes both the'handle means and the pintle means for augmenting edge contact and does not require any cam surface at the rear of the blade pivot.

It should be noted, in FIG. 8A, that the blade pivot is constructed in a manner to cause a separation of the blades Whereas FIG. 8 shows that the blade-handle pivot acts to bring the blades together.

In the shears shown in FIGS. 9, l0 and 12, the pivotal connections between the handle receiving members and the blades have been modified with the pivots being so constructed as to provide wear resistant non-binding bearing surfaces. In all other respects, the shears are identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-7, wherefore new reference numerals have been used only where significant differences in construction exist. a

With reference to said FIGS. 9, 10. and 12, blade 2 has, near-its cutting edge, a fixed pivot member generally-indicated by 16f) extending upwardly from the outer planar surface thereof, and blade-4 has, near its cutting edge, a fixed pivot member generally indicated by 162 extending downwardly from the outer planar surface thereof.

The handle receiving members aredesignated by 122 and 124, the shanks of which are adapted to receive at the outer ends the grasping handles 32 and 34, respectively.

Each pivot member 160, 162 is comprised of an innermost cylindrical shank portion 164 receivable in a tightfitting manner in an opening provided in its respective blade 2 or 4, and an outermost cylindrical body portion 166 of such increased diameter as to allow an inner shoulder 168 which seats upon the adjacent planar surface of its respective blade. Said cylindrical body portion 166 is receivable in a complemental opening in its respective handle receiving member and has an outermost portion provided with an annular bevelled edge 170 nestable in a compleemntally configured chamfered portion of the opening in the handle receiving member so as to offer a bearing surface thereat adapted to ride on the bevelled edge of its respective pivot member.

By this novel pivotal connection between blades and handle receiving members, jamming of the blades is virtually precluded and a smoother, far easier cutting action is insured. Too, bearing surfaces being provided both on the pivot members and on the handle receiving portions, the effective life of these members is considerably extended.

With reference now to FIG. 11, a modified form of blade pivot means is illustrated as being a suitable substitute for and a reasonable equivalent of the blade pivot pin shown in FIG. 4 hereof.

In this version, the blades 102 and 104 are modified so as to embody annular embossings 103 and 105 respectively which extend inwardly toward each other into confronting pivotal relationship with each other wherefore a simple headed over rivet 166 may be extended through aligned openings therethrough so as to hold same in pivotal relationship with each other.

In the modified form of construction shown in FIG. 13, we have illustrated pintle or pivot pins generally indicated by 260 and 262 fixed in handles 222 and 2224 respectively with a cup washer 206 being disposed between each handle receiving member 222 and 224 and the respective of said blades 202 and 204 wherefor the blades are urged toward each other.

Broadly speaking therefor, the invention will now be seen to comprehend a pair of blades having rearward porpivotally interconnected at a blade pivot and a pair of handle levers having forward extensions pivotally interconnected by a handle pivot which is independent of and forwardly of the blade pivot and is in spaced parallelism therewith, with the forward extensions of the pair of handle levers being located adjacent the outer rearward portions of the blades, coacting with pintle means fixed at each of the outer rearward portions of the blades and rotatable respectively with each of the forward extensions of the handle levers.

It is believed that the gist of the invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further analysis thereof at this point is considered unnecessary, as we have, in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, described the construction and principle of operation of our invention together with the apparatus which we believe to represent the best embodiment thereof, to the end that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of its generic and/or specific aspects,

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. Compound action shears comprising, a pair of blades having cooperating contacting cutting edges, a floating blade pivot pivotally interconnecting said blades at their respective rearward portions, a pair of handle levers having forwardly-projecting portions, a handle pivot pivotally extendable through aligned openings in the blades of said pair and pivotally interconnecting the handle levers of said pair thereof in a scissor-like formation independent of and forwardly of said blade pivot, the forwardly projecting portion of each handle lever of said pair thereof being located in juxtaposition to one of the blades of said pair thereof, and a pair of pintle means each interconnecting one of the blades of said pair thereof and the forwardly-projecting portion of the respective juxtaposed one of the handle levers of said pair thereof, said blade pivot constituting means for maintaining apart the opposed planar surfaces of the blades of said pair thereof at other than the contacting cutting edges thereof.

2. In the compound action shears as defined in claim 1, said blade pivot being constituted by a pin having opposite free end portions receivable in complemental aligned openings in the blades of said pair thereof and having an intermediate annular radially-extending separator portion disposable between the opposed inner planar surfaces of the blades of said pair thereof, the thickness of the separator portion determining the degree of blade separation at the area of said blade pivot.

3. In the compound action shears as defined in claim I, said blade pivot being constituted by annular oppositelyfacing bosses integral with and extending inwardly from the opposed inner planar surfaces of the blades of said pair thereof interconnected by a pin means for rotation of the blades of said pair relatively to each other.

4. Compound action shears comprising, a pair of horizontally-disposed blades having contacting cutting edges, a vertically-disposed blade pivot pivotally interconnecting said blades at their respective rearward portions for maintaining apart the inner planar surfaces of the blades of said pair at other than the contacting cutting edges thereof, a pair of handle levers having forwardly-projecting portions, a vertically-disposed handle pivot pivotally interconnecting the handle levers of said pair thereof independent of and forwardly of the point of pivotal interconnection of said blade pivot, the forwardly projecting portion of each handle lever of said pair thereof being located in juxtaposition to one of the blades of said pair thereof, and vertically-disposed pintle means fixed to each blade of said pair thereof and pivotally engaged with the forwardly projecting portion of the juxtaposed one of the handle levers of said pair thereof, said blade pivot being constituted by a pin having opposite free end portions receivable in complemental aligned openings in the blades of said pair thereof and having an intermediate annular radially-extending separator portion disposable between the opposed inner planar surfaces of the blades of said pair thereof whereby when the blades of said pair thereof are brought together upon movement of the handle levers of said pair thereof toward each other the blades of said pair thereof are moved into line contact with each other, at the cutting edges thereof by the combination of generated forces.

5. In the compound action shears as defined in claim 4, said blade pivot being constituted by annular oppositelyfacing bosses integral with and extending inwardly from the opposed inner planar surfaces of the blades of said pair thereof interconnected by a pin for rotation of the blades of said pair relatively to each other.

6. Compound action shears for imparting force in a horizontal plane and simultaneously in a plane transverse thereto comprising, an upper blade and a lower blade being operative in a generally horizontal plane and having cooperating contacting cutting edges, a floating blade pivot extendable in a plane transverse to the said horizontal plane and interposed between and pivotally interconnecting the rearward portion of the respective of said upper and lower blades, an upper handle lever having a handle extension and a forwardly projecting portion, a lower handle lever having a handle extension and a forwardly projecting portion, a handle pivot independent of and forwardly of said blade pivot and pivotally extendable through aligned openings in said upper and lower blades in a plane transverse to the said horizontal plane and constituting the pivotal interconnection between said upper and lower handle lovers and handle extensions independent of and forwardly of said blade pivot, said upper handle extension at its forward portion being located above said upper blade, said lower handle extenblade pintle means interconnecting said lower blade and the forwardly projecting portion of said lower handle lever forwardly of said handle pivot, said upper and lower blade pintle means conjointly serving to increase the transverse contact pressure between said blades as resistance is met in cutting and acting cooperantly with 1 said handle pivot to urge said upper and lower blades togetherin a transverse direction as the shears are being closed, said blade pivot constituting means for maintaining apart the opposed planar surfaces of said upper and References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/ 35 Vosbikian et a1; 30-252 X 3/37 Vosbikian et al. 30-252 10/45 Brown 30-266 X 6/50 Weidauer 30-266 X 4/56 Sejman et al. 30-266 6/ 62 McBerty 30-254 X FOREIGN PATENTS 5/00 Germany.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner. lower blades at other than the contacting edges thereof. THOMAS HICKEY, Examiner, 

1. COMPOUND ACTION SHEARS COMPRISING, A PAIR OF BLADES HAVING COOPERATIVELY CONTACTING CUTTING EDGES, A FLOATING BLADE PIVOT PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTING SAID BLADES AT THEIR RESPECTIVE REARWARD PORTIONS, A PAIR OF HANDLE LEVERS HAVING FORWARDLY-PROJECTING PORTIONS, A HANDLE PIVOT PIVOTALLY EXTENDABLE THROUGH ALIGNED OPENINGS IN THE BLADES OF SAID PAIR AND PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTING THE HANDLE LEVERS OF SAID PAIR THEREOF IN A SCISSOR-LIKE FORMATION INDEPENDENT OF AND FORWARDLY OF SAID BLADE PIVOT, THE FORWARDLY PROJECTING PORTION OF EACH HANDLE LEVER OF SAID PAIR THEREOF BEING LOCATED IN JUXTAPOSITION TO ONE OF THE BLADES OF SAID PAIR THEREOF, AND A PAIR OF PINTLE MEANS EACH INTERCONNECTING ONE OF THE BLADES OF SAID PAIR THEREOF AND THE FORWARDLY-PROJECTING PORTION OF THE RESPECTIVE JUXTAPOSED ONE OF THE HANDLE LEVERS OF SAID PAIR THEREOF, SAID BLADE PIVOT CONSTITUTING MEANS FOR MAINTAINING APART THE OPPOSED PLANAR SURFACES OF THE BLADES OF SAID PAIR THEREOF AT OTHER THAN THE CONTACTING CUTTING EDGES THEREOF. 